Judge: Case against Ex-AIG Chief "Devastating"

New York state's civil case against former American International Group CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg is "devastating," a judge said Tuesday.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos did not immediately issue a ruling, but told Greenberg attorney David Boies that prosecutor David Ellenhorn "has put together a devastating case, a very strong case, and we both know it," Reuters reported.=http:>

Greenberg, 86, was ousted as CEO of the collapsed international insurance and finance giant in 2005.

The case centers on an insurance transaction with a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway that allowed AIG to boost its risk reserves by $500 billion without taking on additional risk.

Greenberg has faced a separate civil suit for allegedly plundering $4.3 billion in stock from a company retirement program because he was angry about his ouster.

And last summer, "Greenberg agreed to pay $15 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that he altered AIG's records to boost results between 2000 and 2005," Reuters reported.

Boies is known for arguing on behalf of Al Gore before the U.S. Supreme Court following the disputed presidential vote in 2000.